Manchester City may not have taken command of the Premier League just yet, but they are in sole charge of wild extravagance. Elsewhere there is an air of modesty, even if the managers crave privately to go on yet another spree. A reduction in budgets may strip the sport of its vaingloriousness and let football recover a sense of proportion.

City are the exception, but it is too soon for them to be resented when their first home match of the campaign can turn into a tense 1-0 win over newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers. Mark Hughes has much to do before he secures the envy and loathing of the football world at large. His peers, by contrast, lack the funds to offend anyone with a boorish acquisitiveness.

Liverpool have more or less broken even in their summer dealings, with suggestions ensuing that Rafael Benítez is frustrated. Arsenal are swathed in the customary air of mystery. Outsiders speculate on whether restraint in the transfer market owes more to Arsène Wenger's temperament or to the debts, according to the most recent accounts, of £416m largely entailed in the creation of an excellent stadium.

At Chelsea, Roman Abramovich's comparative circumspection nowadays was reflected in the addition of just Yuri Zhirkov to the stock of first-team players. Manchester United are an odd case. The lucrative parting with Cristiano Ronaldo was fairly predictable in view of his long-standing ambition to play for Real Madrid, yet the proceeds of £80m are largely untouched so far.

It has been suggested that the sort of major signing required has so far been unobtainable, although Sir Alex Ferguson has long been associated with expensive deals. Juan Sebastián Verón cost him £28.1m as long ago as 2001, with Rio Ferdinand arriving for £30m a year later.

Much could take place before the transfer window closes next week, but so far there is a hope that the long-established hierarchy of the Premier League can come under threat. No club has dislodged one of the usual quartet from the top four since Everton pushed Liverpool down into fifth place four years ago, but there have been close calls.

Tottenham very nearly denied Arsenal a Champions League berth in 2006. The side, then managed by Martin Jol, would have done so had they overcome West Ham at Upton Park to clinch fourth place in the table. They were instead beaten 2-1 after illness, later attributed to a virus, had affected some players. The club, in every sense, is enjoying better health at the moment. It is bracing to stand at the top of the League table, even if the status holds little meaning in August.

We ought to expect prominence for Tottenham. Sunday's 2-1 win at West Ham did not suggest greatness in the making, when one of their goals was ludicrous and the other avoidable, but the club have been making great efforts to improve themselves for a while now. Although the transfer market has a subdued tone now, their spending amounts to about £147m since January 2008.

Significant amounts have been recouped, with Darren Bent going to Sunderland for £10m most recently, but Tottenham's ambition is evident. It showed in the victory over Liverpool. They had also beaten Benítez's side last season, but this was a completely different sort of win because it had been so thoroughly earned.

No one, least of all Harry Redknapp, declares that the cartel at the top of the Premier League will be smashed, but it is good for the health of the game that such a possibility exists. Aston Villa made a bid of their own to bustle into the elite last season. The effort foundered because Martin O'Neill's squad was too small and, specifically, there was no way of replacing Martin Laursen when he succumbed to the injury that has since ended his career.

Manchester City and, conceivably, Tottenham may have the means now to stay on course. They do not lack for encouragement after witnessing the fallibility of United and Liverpool of late. Anyone can quibble about the make-up of Redknapp's squad and even of Hughes's, but that is to miss the point.

The squads of the elite clubs are no longer beyond reproach. United, the reigning champions, seem lacking in midfield, for instance, and may depend more than is healthy on Ryan Giggs, who turns 36 in November. If the bookies are right, Chelsea will reclaim the title, but the months to come should show us that the Premier League is shedding its predictability.